page_title: Effects of stress on memory
section_title: Fear response
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of stress on memory / Learning / Fear response
caption_attribution_description: Illustration of cat terrified at a dog from Chapter V Special Expressions of Animals General Collections
context_page_description: The effects of stress on memory include interference with a person's capacity to encode memory and the ability to retrieve information. During times of stress, the body reacts by secreting stress hormones into the bloodstream. Stress can cause acute and chronic changes in certain brain areas which can cause long-term damage. Over-secretion of stress hormones most frequently impairs long-term delayed recall memory, but can enhance short-term, immediate recall memory. This enhancement is particularly relative in emotional memory. In particular, the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and the amygdala are affected. One class of stress hormone responsible for negatively affecting long-term, delayed recall memory is the glucocorticoids, the most notable of which is cortisol. Glucocorticoids facilitate and impair the actions of stress in the brain memory process. Cortisol is a known biomarker for stress. Under normal circumstances, the hippocampus regulates the production of cortisol through negative feedback because it has many receptors that are sensitive to these stress hormones. However, an excess of cortisol can impair the ability of the hippocampus to both encode and recall memories.
context_section_description: The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat. An anxious state at the time of learning can create a stronger aversion to the stimuli. A stronger aversion can lead to stronger associations in memory between the stimulus and response, therefore enhancing the memory of the response to the stimulus. When extinction is attempted in male and female humans, compared to a neutral control without anxiety, extinction does not occur. This suggests that memory is enhanced for learning, specifically fear learning, when anxiety is present.
caption: Fear Response Cat from Darwin's "Expressions of Emotions".
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